As
he continued his letter to the church located in Colosse, Paul the
apostle commended the church members, told them of the prayer and
desire he had for them, and that they as well as he “were
delivered ... from the power of darkness and translated ... into the
kingdom of his dear Son:” who is Jesus Christ. In chapter one
and verse fourteen we learn more of the benefit of having a
relationship with God's Son where we read:
In whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
The verse begins, “In
whom we have redemption through his blood,...” Another
benefit to knowing God's Son Jesus “we have redemption”
which means “a releasing effected by payment of ransom,
deliverance or liberation procured by the payment of a ransom”
“through his blood” or “blood shed, to be shed by
violence, slay, or murder”. In other words, by the price of the
“shed blood” of Jesus Christ, the Colossians and Paul were
“released, delivered, and liberated” from their old lives which
were kept within the power of darkness as mentioned in the previous
verse. They were now freed to be within the kingdom of God.
The verse goes on to say, “...even
the forgiveness of sins:” As a
specificity to this “redemption through the blood”
of Jesus Christ, God's Son, Paul adds “even the
forgiveness” or “release
from bondage or imprisonment” “of sins” which means
“(letting them go as if they had never been committed) and
remission of the penalty”. Jesus Christ paid the price through His
shed blood that the Colossians and Paul might not only know His
redemption, but also His forgiveness for their sins.
As we think through these
words, let us be reminded that the word “redemption” in
its basic form means “to buy back or redeem”. The idea is that
something has been sold, captured, bought or stolen by one person and
has been repurchased by another. We were sold into darkness, captured
by sin, bought through our faults, and stolen from the relationship
with our Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ came to the earth and
spilled His blood by the beatings, scourging and crucifixion upon the
cross. Jesus paid the “redemption” or “ransom” price
for us to be not only delivered from the kingdom of darkness, but
also to be forgiven for our sins. In other words, He bought back
every one who will believe in Him from our captors, and now we have
entrance into His wonderful kingdom. As we ponder this idea, let us
humbly come before our loving Lord Jesus with gratitude and
appreciation for His payment for us, because without Him paying the
price for our redemption and forgiveness with His blood, we would
forever be lost in the kingdom of darkness and would never know the
relationship we may have with Him. To God be the Glory, Great Things
He has done!
Next
time Paul will write more about Jesus Himself,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment